Bad Dreams, Worse Memories
by Whovian-Trekkie
Summary: Even in the future, Medicine still has ground to cover in the psychological realm. Joanna McCoy is about to learn that fact the hard way...


Joanna McCoy woke with a shudder. It was the fourth time this week she'd woken up from a nightmare. At least this one wasn't as violent as they normally were. Almost every night since her rescue from Erani 2, she had woken up either in a cold sweat. She kept dreaming of all the violence and carnage she had seen during her time there. But this dream was different. In the others, she was merely replaying the memory of when she was injured. The last weeks of her recovery, her nightmares had subsided. She figured that the fact that she had seen her father and was soon going to be working alongside him had been the reason they had stopped. Then, they resurfaced with a vengeance.

"This is getting ridiculous. At this rate, I'm going to be driven insane before I'm 25." she said sarcastically.

She got out of bed and saw the chronometer read 0300 as she walked toward the bathroom,

"Oh, screw my life!" she exclaimed. She wasn't due to go on shift until 8 but usually rose at 7 to have breakfast with her father.

She walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, disrobed, and took a sonic shower. As she came out of the shower, she decided that she would talk to her dad about the dreams at breakfast. But, for the time being, she needed to try and sleep.

Leonard McCoy woke slowly because of a strange and quiet beeping noise. He rose groggily and walked to his desk. He then realized it was the computer's alert system. It was telling him that Jo had woken up from a rough nightmare and her heartbeat was racing. Although she didn't know it, he was aware she was having trouble sleeping the past week. She had been slightly more irritable and looked exhausted on shift. So, the day before, he installed a device that would alert him if Joanna had another nightmare. He threw on a shirt and left his room to go see Joanna. As he got to her door, he knocked and spoke quietly,

"Joey, honey, are you ok?" said McCoy

The door opened and he entered to see Joanna sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.

"I can't sleep. And it's driving me crazy. I can't function without a decent night's rest." said Joanna, not looking up from the floor.

McCoy sat next to Joanna and put his arm around her.

"We'll get through this. Together."

Joanna looked up at her father with a sad smile.

"Thanks. How did you know I was awake?" she asked, confused slightly.

"I did have to read your medical reports when you came on board. The nurses on Starbase 8 said you were having particularly violent dreams. It also said you refused to take dream suppressant medication as well."

McCoy thought to himself, *_I don't blame you, kid*. _He had always believed in letting the body try to heal some things by itself and had always avoided giving medication, like dream suppressants, unless it was truly necessary. The rule applied to him as well and it seems like Joanna inherited the belief.

"I don't trust drugs that are that powerful. I know they've been proven to work, but I'm still at odds with them" said Joanna

"I noticed you had been a little tetchier this past week. I assumed you were having issues sleeping, so I took the liberty of installing a heartbeat sensor in your room."

Joanna put her head back down and started running her fingers through her hair.

"I went to see the ship psychologist and, like everybody else, she prescribed dream suppressants. I took one the other night and it worked, but, I'm paying for it now. I almost started screaming when I woke tonight. The dream is similar to the one I had months ago, but it was different. All the others just had me replaying the memories of Erani. This one… This is the worst nightmare I've ever had." said Joanna as she looked up at McCoy, almost in tears.

"As much as I hate to ask, but I need to in order to help, what happened in this one?" asked McCoy.

Joanna took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I'm back on Erani but I don't see any of my shipmates or any survivors. It's almost pitch black and I see things moving in the dark. All of sudden, I'm rushed by this figure. It's tall and almost like a blurred image. I thought it was the bastard I was fighting before the grenade went off. It's running toward me and I start running in the other direction. I feel like I can't get away from this thing when it pulls out this giant sword and starts slashing it in all directions. I finally get away from this thing and find a hiding spot. Just when I think I'm safe, it finds me and drives the sword right through me." said Joanna, with fear in her voice.

"It seems that you may have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But don't worry, honey, we'll get through this. I'll be with you the entire way." said McCoy as he gathered his little girl in his arms.

Joanna did start to cry and spoke,

"I know it doesn't sound like the scariest dream ever, but…. It's getting to me. I'm trying to be as strong as I can, but I can only take so much."

"I know, honey. I'm going to do everything I can to help you. No one is expecting you to be Wonder Woman, so don't worry. You're the strongest person I've ever known, with a wisdom and experience of someone well beyond your years." said McCoy, supportively.

"You're not going to send me away for this, are you? Wait… I don't know why I asked that. I'd be a danger to myself and the crew if this gets worse." said Joanna.

McCoy turned Joanna to face him and clutched her shoulders as he spoke,

"Don't you think for a second, that I would send you away by yourself. I said I would do anything to help you and I am. There isn't a force in this or any other universe that is going to keep me away from my daughter."

Just hearing those words made Joanna reaffirm the fact that she knew her father would do anything to protect and care for her. She felt elated and relieved; she was going to beat this.

*Several Weeks Later*

Joanna wakes up for the first time in weeks, fully refreshed. She had finally gotten a full night's sleep and was free from her nightmares at last. She had been undergoing hypnosis therapy and her father was there for every session and hiccup. The true cause of the problem had been stress and she had been on the edge of having a nervous breakdown. Due to the traumatic nature of her past and the fact that she, like her father, kept quiet about her problems, it was surprising Joanna's mind hadn't had broken sooner. The ship psychologist was in awe of her emotional strength. During the sessions, Joanna had been able to face her demon figure and came to terms with the anger she had felt in her childhood.

For the first time in her life, Joanna felt like a normal person. With her father by her side, she couldn't wait to see what the universe had in store for the both of them.


End file.
